What did Giannis Antetokounmpo say about playing for the Chicago Bulls?
Though he said nothing definitive, in the wake of Kevin Durant’s recent trade request drama, it might be wise to keep an eye on Giannis in future.
The former league MVP’s choice of words may well come as a shock to some, especially when considering the idea that his team is one of the better ones in the league today.
The Milwaukee Bucks have a shot
As we prepare for the 2022-23 NBA season, the Milwaukee Bucks are actually sitting on very decent odds to clinch another title. It goes without saying that two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is a major part of that. Indeed, the ‘Greek Freak’ himself actually has the third best odds at present to get his hands on a third MVP award according the bookmakers Consider for a moment, that the Bucks were largely undone by an injury to the all-important Khris Middleton in this past campaign. While injuries are part of sports, it would be fairly safe to assume that were it not for his absence, the Bucks would have been in with a shot at retaining their title.
Is Giannis Antetokounmpo open to playing for the Chicago Bulls?
As mentioned above, both the Bucks and Giannis are decent bets for team and individual success this coming season. That’s important to take into consideration when considering the curious statement that he made just this week. Indeed, as curious as it may be, the Bucks star cast a shadow of doubt over his future with the franchise despite everything we just covered above. During a recent public appearance on behalf of Antidote Health - a telehealth company for which he’s an ambassador - Antetokounmpo was asked if he’d ever consider playing for the Bucks’ division rivals, the Chicago Bulls.
“I think anybody you ask that question that plays basketball, if he said no, he’d be a liar,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s a team that won multiple championships, it’s a team that one of the greatest players, if not the greatest player to ever play this game played for. So it’s a no-brainer, everybody would love to play for Chicago. Down the line you never know, you never know how life brings it, maybe I play for Chicago, but right now I’m committed to Milwaukee.”
No need to freak out over Giannis’ Bulls endorsement
As you can imagine, the reaction to Antetokounmpo’s comments was instantaneous. Many theorized as to what trade packages could actually make his move to Chicago possible, while others raved and ranted about betrayal. Yet, the bottom line is this: whether Giannis has started to entertain the idea of moving to pastures anew or not, the fact remains that he still has four years and over $188.6 million left on his deal with the Bucks, before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026. Granted, some will point to Kevin Durant’s recent trade request debacle, as Durant also has four years remaining, but rest assured whether it’s the Bulls or someone else, a deal for Giannis would take a whole lot to get it over the line.
Ultimately, Giannis’ comments while interesting, should be taken with a pinch of salt in that this is not the first time he’s alluded to playing for another team. Just last year, Giannis told GQ in an interview that he loves challenges and perhaps “the next challenge might not be here,” referring to Milwaukee. With that in mind, we could say that if nothing else his narrative hasn’t changed. Regardless, though it’s not likely that we will see Giannis leaving Milwaukee in the now, it’s pretty clear that he’s in no way closed to the idea of doing so later.